Why avoiding temptation may work better than resisting it

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If you're struggling to resist the cupcakes a co-worker brought in, spend less time scrolling on social media or sit down to study, psychologists say the problem may not be weak willpower alone.

A growing body of research suggests people who appear to have strong self-control often succeed by avoiding temptation. They shape their surroundings, build social supports and create routines instead of repeatedly forcing themselves to resist. 

Willpower is the effort people use to overcome an immediate temptation in pursuit of a longer-term goal. Self-control is broader: it can include planning, forming habits and arranging the environment so fewer decisions depend on willpower in the first place.

Rather than trying to become better at resisting temptation, some researchers say the key may be to encounter it less often.  

Michael Inzlicht, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto who studies self-control, has found that when people report deliberately using willpower, they succeed about half the time. When they do not report making that deliberate effort, they still succeed about one-third of the time.

People who live longer, save more money and report stronger relationships also tend to score highly on conscientiousness, a personality trait associated with planning, persistence and organization. 

But Inzlicht said their goals may also fit more closely with what they enjoy or see as part of their identity. Someone who loves playing a sport, for example, may not experience physical activity as a constant act of self-denial.

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"They're more likely to be autonomously motivated for the goals they set for themselves versus non-conscientious people, who tell themselves, 'Oh, I ought to do this,'" Inzlicht said.

When he asks people in the second group why they are pursuing a goal, he said they may answer, "'Oh, because my doctor says so, or my wife thinks it'll be better for me, or I want to please my parents.'" 

If people avoid temptations to begin with, Inzlicht said, they don't need to rely as heavily on self-control. 

He suspects the answer is not willpower alone, which can be fragile, but cultivating a desire for behaviours considered beneficial — from eating broccoli and apples to dancing or playing pickleball. But he acknowledged his theory is difficult to test.

That makes replication especially important, Inzlicht said, because findings become more credible when independent researchers can reproduce them.

Questions about replication have also complicated the popular interpretation of the famed marshmallow test, in which children were asked to wait for a larger reward rather than take a smaller one immediately. 

Early studies suggested children who waited longer went on to have better outcomes in life. Later work found those links became much weaker after researchers accounted for factors such as family income and the child's home environment, Inzlicht said.

Zoë Francis studied goal pursuit while completing her PhD under Inzlicht. Her later work has examined how adults' beliefs and expectations affect their experience of self-control.

Changing the environment can make a desired behaviour easier. Students may form study groups, while people under stress may rely on friends or relatives for practical support.

Francis used online shopping as an example. 

"Each time you have to make the decision to not buy it, it is a new decision," said Francis, a psychology professor at University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C. 

"But if you use an ad blocker and you unsubscribe from all the email notifications and you stop … seeing influencers pushing all these clothes on you, you change your environment."

Not everyone has the same ability to control their surroundings or draw on social support. But the same principle is commonly used in smoking-cessation programs, where people are encouraged to identify and avoid triggers.

J. Bruce Morton, a psychology professor at Western University, uses a version of the marshmallow test with participants ranging from toddlers to young adults. His research examines how early experiences relate to people's ability to focus on relevant information and delay immediate rewards.

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Morton said he would not frame avoidance and willpower as an either-or choice.

"Withdrawal symptoms can be triggered by anything that gets the body expecting nicotine," Morton said, and the sight and smell of smoke are particularly powerful cues or triggers. But "avoiding those triggers is an effective strategy for avoiding relapse."

When students tell Inzlicht they want better grades, he encourages them to make the goal concrete: decide how much they will study, where they will do it, what time they will start and when they will put it in their calendar. 

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For people who want to exercise more, Francis recommends making the decision in advance, such as prepaying for a set of classes rather than waiting until the end of the workday to decide whether to go to the gym. 

"A key component of a healthy and successful lifestyle is usually it becomes a habit," Francis said. "And when a goal is small and you can succeed, it's going to become easier, and then you can build on that."

Journalist

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